It’s impossible to talk about Los Angeles without mentioning sushi. From Tiki bars to sushi bars Los Angeles has always experimented with alternative cuisines. There are 210 sushi restaurants listed within 14 miles of the center of Los Angeles which works out to be a sushi restaurant approximately every 100 yards. There is even a Sushi Academy that offers a California Rice Scholarship to those who wish to attend the courses which range in intensity from one day to twelve weeks.
At one time there was talk of the Japanese government sending inspectors to rate the authenticity of sushi restaurants here in the United States. The Japanese fear that with Americanized fusion cuisine such as California roll, caterpillar roll, dynamite roll, rainbow roll, spider roll, Philadelphia roll and Seattle roll becoming synonymous with sushi in the United States the authenticity of the experience would be lost. However, wherever there are cross cultural connections the sharing of edible delicacies becomes inevitable.
The key to globally accepted cuisine seems to be simplicity. While the basics of a dish are retained, regional ingredients and tastes are added in an explosive evolution of gastronomic delight. To those who wish to be Kill Roy’s and complain about the bastardizing of culture specific cuisines all one has to do is take a look at food throughout the centuries. The origin of any type of cuisine is questionable if one goes back far enough.
Some foods such as ice cream, pasta, pizza, and sushi have gone around the world and back again. While Americans have adopted Japanese sushi and made it their own, the Japanese in an unintentional cultural exchange have adopted American pizza and done the same. Examples of this can also be found in Los Angeles. While the Japanese may frown on our interpretation of sushi we would find their idea of pizza quiet odd. Here in Los Angeles some alternative items listed in an Asian pizza place as toppings are: Alfredo Sauce, asparagus, bamboo shoots, BBQ chicken, blue cheese dressing, boiled eggs, calamari, clams, crab, cream cheese mousse, cubed beef and steak sauce, lettuce, mayonnaise, nacho chips, octopus, orange marmalade, potatoes, seaweed, sour cream, strawberry dipping sauce, sweet potato mousse, tuna, shrimp, squid ink and sweet corn. Although not all these items are offered on one pizza even one or two of them mixed together on a pizza crust probably would not appeal to the average American.
Cinematic efforts have portrayed this mixing of culinary culture in a humorous vein. It has become popular in cartoons such as Samurai Pizza Cats who fight crime in Little Tokyo while running a pizza place, animated wasabi as both the bad guy in Chop Socky Chooks and the good guy in Sushi Pack and real wasabi used to humorous effect in the movie of the same name.
From preservative method to fast food to culinary art, where presentation is as important as taste and combinations of ingredients are chosen for their color and texture and taste enhancing combinations, such foods as sushi, pizza, pasta and ice cream have captured the palate and imagination of the world. Globalization of culture is reflected in the evolution of culturally specific cuisines worldwide being adopted, reinvented and perhaps even rejuvenated by cross culture adaptations.
At one time there was talk of the Japanese government sending inspectors to rate the authenticity of sushi restaurants here in the United States. The Japanese fear that with Americanized fusion cuisine such as California roll, caterpillar roll, dynamite roll, rainbow roll, spider roll, Philadelphia roll and Seattle roll becoming synonymous with sushi in the United States the authenticity of the experience would be lost. However, wherever there are cross cultural connections the sharing of edible delicacies becomes inevitable.
The key to globally accepted cuisine seems to be simplicity. While the basics of a dish are retained, regional ingredients and tastes are added in an explosive evolution of gastronomic delight. To those who wish to be Kill Roy’s and complain about the bastardizing of culture specific cuisines all one has to do is take a look at food throughout the centuries. The origin of any type of cuisine is questionable if one goes back far enough.
Some foods such as ice cream, pasta, pizza, and sushi have gone around the world and back again. While Americans have adopted Japanese sushi and made it their own, the Japanese in an unintentional cultural exchange have adopted American pizza and done the same. Examples of this can also be found in Los Angeles. While the Japanese may frown on our interpretation of sushi we would find their idea of pizza quiet odd. Here in Los Angeles some alternative items listed in an Asian pizza place as toppings are: Alfredo Sauce, asparagus, bamboo shoots, BBQ chicken, blue cheese dressing, boiled eggs, calamari, clams, crab, cream cheese mousse, cubed beef and steak sauce, lettuce, mayonnaise, nacho chips, octopus, orange marmalade, potatoes, seaweed, sour cream, strawberry dipping sauce, sweet potato mousse, tuna, shrimp, squid ink and sweet corn. Although not all these items are offered on one pizza even one or two of them mixed together on a pizza crust probably would not appeal to the average American.
Cinematic efforts have portrayed this mixing of culinary culture in a humorous vein. It has become popular in cartoons such as Samurai Pizza Cats who fight crime in Little Tokyo while running a pizza place, animated wasabi as both the bad guy in Chop Socky Chooks and the good guy in Sushi Pack and real wasabi used to humorous effect in the movie of the same name.
From preservative method to fast food to culinary art, where presentation is as important as taste and combinations of ingredients are chosen for their color and texture and taste enhancing combinations, such foods as sushi, pizza, pasta and ice cream have captured the palate and imagination of the world. Globalization of culture is reflected in the evolution of culturally specific cuisines worldwide being adopted, reinvented and perhaps even rejuvenated by cross culture adaptations.
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